Dear Member,
This newsletter is reaching you as an update to what has been going on in our Club in the last months. The street bar, bar and restaurant will shortly be fully operational. The embellishment of the club premises has been almost completed and the premises are looking bright, clean and functional. Members will be having their food and drinks served from state of the art facilities that each and every one of our loyal Members deserves.
1. Bar & Restaurant
The whole catering lease will be entrusted once again to Patrick Spiteri who revamped the catering establishment concept since his involvement. For the second summer the bar and lido complex which are being further upgraded will be managed by Kenneth Vella of Giuseppe’s Group. General maintenance works are currently underway and the hoisting of poles, railings and of the recently launched lighting system that will light up the Club’s premises will soon be completed. Particular attention is being given to all the different sections in the lower part of the Club where every part will be fulfilling a different role – The area below the street bar will once again be a lounge area which will be open from noon onwards. This part is very eye-catching with the introduction of very attractive outdoor furniture which will definitely once again make our premises the place to be this summer. – A further upgrade of the pizza preparation area which will also be serving a variety of foods. This area is up to state of the art standards and set in the cleanest of atmospheres. Non-gluten menus are also made available. The new management also took care of recruiting some of the best chefs on the island while the Committee will always be making sure that prices are kept reasonable and affordable for Members and will follow up the price adjustments that are applicable to Members that were agreed upon with the operator last Summer. – The installation of a series of plasma TV screens now also in the lido part of the premises along the existing screens in the street bar area. There will also be free access to internet for all Members by means of Wi-Fi. – The installation of CCTV cameras all over the Club premises which will make sure that the whole area of the club premises will be surveyed hence controlling any form of abuse that might have been going on during the last years. The impact of all this together is likely to make our premises as safe as possible. We can now definitely feel proud of our Club house. Prices will be monitored while price list for drinks for members is approved by the Club Committee. Price list for items offered for sale will be posted in a prominent place and so will be done for the price list for Members from the main bar of the lido. Any complaint is to be forwarded to any Committee Member with the least possible delay. This applies to all areas of operation whether it involves standards or pricing. Any discounts will be accorded only on the presentation of a valid membership card which belongs to the member that presents the same card. As from this year, a separate card will be issued to the Member’s partner to facilitate the use of the card.
2. Waterpolo Pitch and Committee Room
All necessary works on the waterpolo pitch have been carried out. This should be adequate for the conditions of our premises as seen last summer when the pitch was subjected to some freak storms. A brand new safety net around the waterpolo pitch intended to keep away the jelly fish will once again been installed. The old one was damaged beyond repair by the aforementioned storms. This is an initiative which proved to be a huge success in the last years. Funds for this net as well as for other technical equipment have been obtained from the Good Causes Fund. Moreover, the Committee Room will be equipped with an air conditioning system. Due to this the Committee should be in a position to hold its meetings in this room and this room may also be used as the venue for players’ meetings prior to matches.
3. Showers, dressing rooms and toilets
These are refurbished to reflect the expectations of all Members. Assistance in this regard has been obtained from the Ministry of Resources. The toilets which also include handicapped facilities are of high quality and will be cleaned regularly while the lighting system will be sensor controlled. The same goes for the dressing room which will be accessible to members on the presentation of a valid membership card. The exorbitant costs of water and electricity are known to all and everyone’s collaboration is required for a fluent operation of the showers and dressing room. Unnecessary delay in the dressing rooms will negatively affect another Member. PLEASE TAKE CARE OF THESE FACILITIES AS IF THEY ARE IN YOUR OWN HOME, KEEP THEM CLEAN. DO NOT ALLOW ANYONE TO MISUSE THEM OR EVEN WORSE VANDALIZE THEM. IF WE LOOK AFTER OUR FACILITIES WE WILL FIND THEM CLEAN WHEN IT WILL BE OUR TURN TO USE THEM.
4. Club Sponsors
The Senior Team will be sponsored by Giuseppe’s Group while the Junior Team will be sponsored by Dive Deep Blue while negotiations are going on to ensure other sponsors for the Junior Teams. We also have a new technical brand for swimwear which is the Hungarian brand Diapolo while Puma represented locally by Tuttosport will sponsor the rest of the technical apparel. From this newsletter we would like to thank the sponsors for opting to associate themselves with our Club.
5. Diving Centre & Beach facilities
Operators Dive Deep Blue is operating the Centre from the same site occupied in the previous years. Besides the aforementioned lounge area, after 6pm the lower Club premises will be separated into two other parts. One part will be a bar & snack area (this part will be upgraded from last summer) while the central part which will also see the introduction of attractive outdoor furniture will serve as a restaurant for all those who would like to eat at the Club. This same central area will also serve as the sunbed area during the day. Members will be also granted a 10% discount on the price that is normally paid for the use of sun beds. Tables, chairs and umbrellas will continue to be provided free of charge to all Members.
6. Children
We appreciate that the Pitch is a place of relaxation for all. Therefore we appeal to all parents to make sure that their kids do not cause unnecessary disturbance to other Members particularly by running around unattended and damaging sun beds and other equipment.
7. Opening hours
The lido facilities including showers and dressing rooms will be operated between 10am and 5pm. Deck area has to be kept free during matches and umbrellas might not be available on very windy days. Kindly note that the Bar Tender will be working under the Committee’s instruction (mainly in maintaining the place clean and in order and any lack of collaboration by Members or others on the Club premises will not be accepted.) Security officers and Police will be asked to intervene in case of indiscipline to orders either from the Committee or from the Bar Tender with the authorization of the Committee. The Club House is not a public place but private for the use of the Club Members.
8. Membership Fees
We encourage all Members to pay up their membership as soon as possible. We trust to provide our Members a new and improved experience when spending time this summer at the Club premises and the payment of this nominal fee € 50 (the cheapest for any waterpolo club in Malta) is the least we can do to help the Club. The section in the Statute that refers to the deadlines of the payments of fees refers to the right to vote during the AGM and not to the right of use of club facilities. Therefore we strongly encourage does who did not pay already to do so on their first visit of the Club. Members apart from the use of facilities in the Club premises will also be granted discounted drinks prices from bar and discounts on the use of sun beds. Moreover, the Committee is working to provide an added value to the membership as shortly, the card will also start serving as a discount voucher card from a series of selected outlets. Members will be informed as soon as these agreements will be finalized.
9. Gold Members
As is now customary we are once again proposing the Gold Membership which involves the payment of € 150. We kindly ask those who are in a position to do so to help the Club beyond the payment of the normal membership which is really a token fee in today’s day and age. Moreover, Gold Members are given extra benefits that include free sun bed upon booking in the newly embellished sun bed area along with discounted drinks and food prices. The Club requires these extra funds to keep on improving its team, its junior sector and its premises.
10. Senior Team
Karl Izzo will be once again the Head Coach of San Ġiljan ASC. In fact, Izzo, also signed an extension to his contract which now expires at the end of 2013. Karl will be assisted by new signing Bogdan Rath who besides being available for selection, has also joined the coaching staff, while John Xerri de Caro will be responsable for medical matters. The Club has also signed Ryan Mock, Matthew Pisani and goalkeepers David Abela (loan) and Edward Arrigo. Some promising junior players who have already played in the Juniors Winter League have also joined the Club. Paul Fava has been confirmed as the team captain and Karl Galea vice-Captain. Three top foreigners have been recruited for this season. These are Bogdan Rath who needs no introduction , Boris Letica who plays for Macedonia national team and Croatian powerhouse HAVK Mladost, while Croatian Nikola Sutic will be once again playing for our Club after his positive experience last year. The rest of the squad is the same as last year with the right blend of young and experienced players. Matthew Zammit’s suspension ends this year and he will be eligible to play again for the Club from the 22nd June 2012 onwards – a long-awaited return for our “Xellugi”. Our Senior Team will also be participating in a pre-season tournament and training in Sicily just before the commencement of the summer season. The last time our Club held a pre-season event overseas was in 1992 so a big thank you goes to Karl Izzo for his hard work in organizing every little detail.
11. Junior Team
After having revamped the Club’s youth sector during the last two summers, our Juniors featured prominently in Winter League winning the Under 15 league and placing as runners-up in the Under 17 competition. This season will see us compete once again in the national Under 13, Under 15, Under 17 and Under 20 league. Training went on since last Autumn with Coach Kurt Dowling. Last month, the Club took a very important step which also implies a financial commitment, hence the uninterrupted search for sponsors for the junior sector, when Bogdan Rath was appointed coach of all the junior teams. This will give our boys the unique opportunity to train at the highest level. “Boghy” brings with him all his experience and love for the game. Some of our junior players have been picked to train regularly with the Senior Team under the supervision of Head Coach Karl Izzo who will be once again heading the Under 20 squad and most of them debuted in the Winter League while some of them were even chosen in their respective age group national teams. Training will be on a daily basis in Summer at the Pitch. As from this year the Junior Sector is being administered by a sub-committee which is chaired by Mr.Peter Bonavia. Any parents who are interested in enrolling their kids are to contact any Committee Member. If every Member had to attract a boy to our junior teams we would have a much needed exponential increase in the number of boys.
12. Miscellaneous
This year’s International Tournament organized in conjunction with the St. Julian’s Local Council will be played from the 23rd to the 27th of July and will feature the participation of two Italian teams along with the Club’s female team. Finally we would like to thank you for your support. We need your help with the Club particularly with the recruitment of more boys and in day to day administration. A good example of member participation was provided by Mr.Chris Galea who took the initiative of constructing two brand new goal posts. Similar good examples come from Mr.Charles Galea and his team of friends who cooked delicious food during the latest fund raising activities. Participation in the recent fund raising activities has not always been satisfactory however the last activity which featured a BBQ which for the first time was held at the Pitch outside the Summer months has boosted our morale and especially that of those hard working Committee and Club Members who work very hard to put up these activities. We will be organizing others in the near future and we look forward to see you there. We trust in your collaboration. In the Club’s President Dr. Aquilina’s words, the Club is going through a phase of “natural development however, this development always needs to be driven with enthusiasm, self-belief and ambition”. Today, the Club can rely on a number of competent and committed administrators. The latest addition to this team was that of Mr. Anthony Attard also known as “Lupepu” who was elected as Club Secretary following an EGM held in May. Anthony brings with him a wealth of experience in the game and in club administration. This constant progress is also witnessed by the emergence of the Club’s website www.sangiljanasc.com which is attracting more following as it is constantly updated as well as its Facebook extension www.facebook.com/sangiljanasc. We invite you to come to the Club, to get closer to the Club, to follow our teams and bring over your guests and friends.
Sincerely,
The Committee